Warm Lentil Salad with Arugula and Goats Cheese

January 21, 2011thecoffeebreak

I am not one of those people who started to love cooking at an early age. Despite both of my grandmothers worked as chefs all their life, I had no interest in cooking or food what so ever. The only interest I had was to eat it LOL.

Countless times my mom would call me to the kitchen so I could learn to cook dishes she learnt from her mother. But I always had an excuse why I couldn’t do that. Oh how foolish I was…

When I got married at the age of 20, I just had basic cooking knowledge. Whenever I wanted to cook something I rang my mom to ask for a recipe and instructions. And the more I learnt, the more I enjoyed it.

With the confidence came desire to experiment with new ingredients and techniques. I learnt a lot since then and there are still plenty left to try and explore.

My cooking is not perfect and there were many disasters on the way, but we live to learn : )

Warm Lentil Salad with Arugula and Goats Cheese

Prep time : 25 min

Cooking time : 30-35 min

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

300 gram brown lentils, picked over and rinsed

1 large celery stalk, finely chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 large carrot, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

700 ml vegetable broth

120 g arugula

90 g fresh goats cheese, coarsely crumbled

Salt, pepper to taste

Method

In a large saucepan, combine lentils, celery, onion, carrot, bay leaf and pour in vegetable broth. Bring it to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 30-35 minutes or until lentils are cooked but not mushy.

When ready drain lentil mix well, remove bay leaf and toss in olive oil. Season with salt, pepper if required. Divide among 4 serving plates and top with arugula and goats cheese crumbles.